The Office
Episode Guide
9.17 The Farm: Dwight travels home for a customary Schrute funeral. He and his siblings receive a surprise inheritance that's not entirely welcome. Back at Dunder Mifflin, Todd Packer tries to make amends for a lifetime of bad behavior.
| Role: | Fannie Schrute |
| Genre: | Mockumentary |
| Country: | USA |
| Network: | NBC |
| Running Time: | 22-42 min |
| Production Company: | Deedle-Dee Productions, 3 Arts Entertainment, Reveille Productions, Shine America, NBC Universal Television Studio, Universal Media Studios, Universal Television |
| Created by: | Greg Daniels (Based on The Office by Ricky Gervais & Stephen Merchant) |
| Produced by: | Ben Silverman, Greg Daniels, Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant, Howard Klein, Ken Kwapis, Paul Lieberstein, Jennifer Celotta, B. J. Novak, Mindy Kaling, Brent Forrester, Dan Sterling |
| Directed by: | Paul Lieberstein |
| Written by: | Paul Lieberstein |
| Air Date: | March 14, 2013 |
| Rating/Share (18-49): | 1.9/5 |
| Viewers: | 3.54 million |
| Total: | 3.0/5.36 million |
| Cast: | Steve Carell, Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, B. J. Novak, Melora Hardin, David Denman, Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Kate Flannery, Angela Kinsey, Oscar Nunez, Phyllis Smith |
About the Character
Fannie Schrute is Dwight's younger sister who lives in Chicago with her son, Cameron. She disassociates herself from the rest of the family's lifestyle but plays along in most situations, preferring city life over farm life. She is also an aspiring poet. Even though she has no intentions of returning home at first, she realizes how much her son enjoys it there and decides to stay in the end.
Production
The episode was written and directed by executive producer and former showrunner Paul Lieberstein, marking his thirteenth writing credit, sixth directorial credit and fourth dual credit.
"The Farm" was the fifth episode produced, but was the seventeenth aired, as noted by its production number. It was originally supposed to act as a backdoor pilot for a spin-off series, also called The Farm starring Wilson and focusing on Dwight. As such, Wilson was initially slated to appear in only 13 episodes of The Office's ninth season before leaving for the spin-off.
Paul Lieberstein, the showrunner for The Office for seasons five through eight, stepped down at the start of season nine in order to focus more energy on the potential spin-off. However, upon review, the spin-off was not picked up by NBC. Executive producer Greg Daniels revealed that the episode would have additional material shot so that it fits better into the season, as the original version contained "certain aspects that were appropriate for a pilot of a new show".
The episode guest stars Majandra Delfino, Blake Garrett Rosenthal, Thomas Middleditch and Matt Jones as members of Dwight's family, who were intended to form the main cast of The Farm with Wilson; Delfino plays Dwight's sister Fannie, Rosenthal plays Dwight's nephew Cammy, Middleditch portrays Dwight's brother Jeb, and Jones portrays Dwight's cousin Zeke. Tom Bower appears as Dwight's great uncle Heinrich in a deleted scene only, although he retains his credit in the broadcast episode. Jones had previously appeared in the ninth season entry, "Junior Salesman".
"The Farm" was the fifth episode produced, but was the seventeenth aired, as noted by its production number. It was originally supposed to act as a backdoor pilot for a spin-off series, also called The Farm starring Wilson and focusing on Dwight. As such, Wilson was initially slated to appear in only 13 episodes of The Office's ninth season before leaving for the spin-off.
Paul Lieberstein, the showrunner for The Office for seasons five through eight, stepped down at the start of season nine in order to focus more energy on the potential spin-off. However, upon review, the spin-off was not picked up by NBC. Executive producer Greg Daniels revealed that the episode would have additional material shot so that it fits better into the season, as the original version contained "certain aspects that were appropriate for a pilot of a new show".
The episode guest stars Majandra Delfino, Blake Garrett Rosenthal, Thomas Middleditch and Matt Jones as members of Dwight's family, who were intended to form the main cast of The Farm with Wilson; Delfino plays Dwight's sister Fannie, Rosenthal plays Dwight's nephew Cammy, Middleditch portrays Dwight's brother Jeb, and Jones portrays Dwight's cousin Zeke. Tom Bower appears as Dwight's great uncle Heinrich in a deleted scene only, although he retains his credit in the broadcast episode. Jones had previously appeared in the ninth season entry, "Junior Salesman".
Trivia
The song intended for "The Farm" can be heard just before the ending credits.
The series was a single-camera sitcom.
Best Quotes
Look I don't wanna be mean or like insulting. I know that you like it here but Dwight, it's just that farm life lacks a certain... sort of sophistication that Cammy and I are drawn to. And, I don't know, the man, they're just, it's almost like there's a willing ignorance.
Photos from the episode
Scenes
